I was so excited for this post. Couldn’t wait to gather my thoughts and then we left town with the basketball team and guess who decided not to bring her laptop BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO BE INTENTIONAL with her time?!? Yep. This girl. And who then remember the post was due. Yep. Still here.

And if you follow me on Instagram, you know TIME has kinda been our theme this week…it means so much.

So in an effort to still share, I adapted this post from 2014 before Callie was born and it was our second season in our beloved yellow house. And truly, I am still excited to share it with you. Because it represents our heart and after spending three days with the team, it is so full.

What an honor to join Eileen, Lindsay and Jessica as we continue to share intentionality.

I want every aspect of our day to be intentional.

I want every aspect of our home to be intentional. And I want every aspect of our lives to be intentional.

I just pray that when you come here, you see that what we do holds meaning.

Because more often than not, these little blonde heads have moved everything to make a race track….or to make room for wrestling…


I didn’t spend a lot of money this year on Christmas on decor but I did spend a lot of time. But it was time treasured. I loved it.

This was fun to me. It was my style and my visions coming to life.

Last year, we had the amazing opportunity to be part of a home tour in our home town but to be honest, it was exhaustng.

This year, I’ve keep the decor simple because I was intentional about it and I loved it. I was exhausted but a good kind of exhausted, know what I mean? I’m not even sure I will do a big garland on my staircase and front or even if I’ll put a dining room tree up even though I do love the twinkly lights.

How we decorated this year truly represents who we are. Simplicity. Colors of the sea. Colors of our home. The style of our lives.

I didn’t make a decision because I had to. Instead, if a spot was left blank and I didn’t have something, I used something from around the house. Or moved a picture. Or added magnolia leaves from the yard. (In my kitchen reveal, I even used weeds!)

And as social media continues to change and evolve, I want our home to fully describe who we are as a family. A home with an open door, a full table and willing hearts. Not the home that’s filled with the latest trends and the newest decor. A home that offers comfort, grace and vulnerability.

“When I’m working to be accepted—if not by God, then by anyone—I’m choosing an endless hamster wheel of activity toward a finish line I’ll never reach: unconditional acceptance; value instilled by God.” Kristin Welch

I just want to be intentional as we bring this year to a close. When I learned about my true style, I became intentional with my décor.

Russ reminded me how when finishing our dining room and kitchen, we loved it because it’s us. It’s our home where we will raise our family. Thrifted, blues, greens, whites….comfort. Geez Louise, I even painted my entire house white! My contractor told me it would look like an insane asylym but after reading The Nester’s post on how refreshing white walls are, I was changed–because I change my mind so much.

White walls allow freedom.

They allow me to use blues and greens everywhere with the white because I don’t have to worry about it matching perfectly.

And it doesn’t matter if no one else likes it. It’s how we bring beauty into our lives because God is glorified in recognizing His beauty. Among the mundane moments, among the stuffing of pine branches into a vase, if my heart is focused on Him, I have the right intention.

This home is what I dreamed of. And in my letter to the realtor when I thought we were going to lose it, the main point was that I envisioned Christmas here.

And Christmas here is what God granted me.

But more importantly, this Christmas–as much as I dreamed of beautiful decor–I dreamed of rest with my family even more.

I want more than anything else to be intentional with my time–with my husband, with my boys, and to soak up these memories of our holidays together each and every stop and each celebration—Callie will be THREE Friday and that girl loves a social gathering, we are having a small brunch to celebrate.


“Jesus is so beautiful. Sometimes, when you look into His eyes, in your mind, you feel like you could look for hours. He’s so safe and so full of life and so loving. God made Jesus’ beauty to be almost overwhelming. Ask Him for yourself. Ask God to show you what Jesus looks like. I’ll bet you’ll see His beauty.” –Sara Hagerty, Every Bitter Thing is Sweet


I just want to be intentional in a way that brings glory to Him every step of the way so that His beauty…so that His beauty is what shines through no matter how I may make a mess of it along the way.

Amber